by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The Boston Celtics (37-19) continue their West Coast road trip against the Phoenix Suns (33-25) tonight at Mortgage Matchup Center. This is the first of two regular season matchups between the Celtics and Suns, they’ll meet for a final time on March 16 in Boston.
Boston has dominated Phoenix in recent years, winning four in a row — all by double digits — and six out of the last seven meetings. The Celtics have won three straight at Phoenix by an average margin of 23 points. Their last road loss in Phoenix took place in December 2021.
Boston is a 6-point favorite and the total is 210.5.
WHAT BOTH TEAMS DID IN THEIR PREVIOUS GAME
Boston hammered the Los Angeles Lakers (34-22) 111-89 on the road on Sunday night in front of a nationally televised audience (NBC). The game was a nip-and-tuck affair until late in the first half when Boston went up by 10 points (57-47) in the final minute. The Celtics led 60-50 at the intermission and then dominated the entire second half, outscoring the Lakers 51-39 to win comfortably.
Boston outscored the Lakers by 21.5 ppg in both meetings this year — they defeated the Lakers 126-105 on Dec. 5. It’s the highest point differential of any regular season matchups between the two storied franchises.
Superstar guard Jaylen Brown poured in a game-high 32 points (10-28 FG, 3-9 3Pt, 9-12 FT) and added 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals across 36 minutes for Boston in the win. Payton Pritchard registered 30 points (10-14 FG, 6-9 3Pt, 4-4 FT), 8 assists and 4 rebounds in 38 minutes off the bench. Boston has won three in a row and 8 of their last 9 games.
The injury-riddled Phoenix Suns suffered a 92-77 setback against the Portland Trail Blazers (28-30) at home on Sunday night. Phoenix’s 77 points were a season-low. The Suns were missing their top 3 scorers — All-Star guard Devin Booker (hip strain), forward Dillon Brooks (fractured hand) and guard Grayson Allen (knee/ankle) — against Portland. The trio averages a combined 62.9 points per game.
Collin Gillespie scored a team-high 18 points (7-14 FG, 4-8 3Pt) in 33 minutes for Phoenix. Jalen Green added 13 points (6-16 FG, 1-7 3PT) and 3 steals across 22 minutes. Gillespie and Green were the only Suns players to score at least 10 points. Phoenix has lost 3 of their last 4 games.
GAME STORYLINES: BOSTON
On May 12, 2025, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics endured what looked to be a catastrophic circumstance when All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum suffered a torn right Achilles tendon late in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals (2nd round) against the New York Knicks. The second-seeded Celtics lost Game 4 to the Knicks 121-113 and were eliminated 4-2 four days later.
The loss of superstar forward Jayson Tatum was believed to be a twofold problem for Boston as his absence not only ended their chance at repeating as NBA champs in 2025, but it was feared that Tatum would miss the entire 2025-26 season. The Celtics averaged 61 wins per year over the last 3 seasons (2023-2025) and were projected to win around 45 games this season without Tatum — a 16-game decrease from their norm.
In an unexpected turn of events, Boston has still remained an elite team this season without Jayson Tatum. They enter tonight’s contest with a terrific 37-19 record, which is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and fourth-best record in the NBA. Boston won’t reach the 61-win mark that they’ve averaged over the past 3 seasons, but they are on pace to finish with 54+ wins, and are in position to claim the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for a second straight year.
Finishing with 54+ wins and earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference would be a phenomenal accomplishment for a Celtics squad that may play the entire season without its franchise player and six-time All-Star in Jayson Tatum. With the Celtics exceeding expectations this season, it is rumored that Tatum could return at some point. Tatum participated in a 5-on-5 practice with Boston’s G-League team, the Maine Celtics on Feb. 12.
The catalyst for Boston’s strong season up to this point has been the stellar play of All-Star guard Jaylen Brown. The 29-year-old Cal product has elevated his level of play this season — in the absence of Jayson Tatum — averaging career-highs in points (29.2), rebounds (7.0) and assists (4.9). He was voted in as a starter in this year’s All-Star game, his fifth All-Star nod. The more Boston wins, the more MVP chatter you will hear for Brown.
The trio of sharpshooter Payton Pritchard (17.6 ppg, 5.4 asts, 4.2 rebs, 2.7 threes, 46.9% from 2, 36.8% from 3 in 55 gms), combo guard Derrick White (17 ppg, 5.7 asts, 4.4 rebs, 1.4 blks, 1.2 stls, 2.8 threes in 54 gms) and much-improved center Neemias Queda (9.7 ppg, 8.3 rebs, 1.3 blks, 64.2% from 2 in 53 gms) have all been excellent in supporting roles alongside Jaylen Brown.
Boston made a huge addition at the trade deadline when they acquired stretch big man Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Anfernee Simons on Feb 5. The 35-year-old, two-time All-Star Vucevic has career-averages of 17.2 points and 10.4 rebounds over his 15 seasons with Philadelphia, Orlando and Chicago prior to joining the Celtics. Vucevic’s ability to score in the paint and on the perimeter should give Boston a huge boost.
GAME STORYLINES: PHOENIX
After finishing with a disappointing 36-46 record last season — its worst mark after a full season since 2018-19 — and missing the playoffs entirely, the Phoenix Suns ended their unsuccessful version of the ‘Big 3’ — Bradley Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant — by jettisoning Beal (buyout) and Durant (traded to Houston) in July 2025. Phoenix received a trade package from Houston that featured Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks in exchange for Durant.
Phoenix entered the 2025-26 season with modest expectations due to Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal no longer being on the team. Trade acquisition Jalen Green beginning the year on the injured list with a strained right hamstring was also an obstacle that the Suns needed to overcome before the 2025-26 campaign started.
Despite the uncertainty and unfamiliarity with the roster coming into the 2025-26 campaign, the Phoenix Suns have quietly put together a surprisingly strong season. After finishing 10 games below .500 last season (36-46), Phoenix enters tonight’s game 8 games above .500 at 33-25. When you factor in the tremendous amount of injuries Phoenix is dealing with, sitting at 33-25 is quite an accomplishment.
Superstar Devin Booker (14 games), swingman Dillon Brooks (8 games), guard/forward Grayson Allen (22 games), and shooting guard Jalen Green (48 games) have all dealt with or are dealing with significant injuries. Booker has not played since suffering a right hip strain against San Antonio on Feb. 19. He’ll be out until at least early March. Brooks broke his left hand against Orlando on Saturday (Feb. 21) and will be out for four-to-six weeks.
The magnificent play from the duo of 5-time All-Star Devin Booker (team leading 24.7 ppg & 6.1 asts, 3.9 rebs, 1.7 threes, 45.4% from 2 in 44 gms) and breakout star Dillon Brooks (career-high 20.9 ppg, 3.7 rebs, 2.3 threes in 50 gms) were the main reasons for Phoenix’s unexpected turnaround this season. The 29-year-old Booker continues to play at a high level in his 11th season. The emergence of the 30-year-old Brooks as a reliable scorer is the biggest revelation as he was known for being a defensive-minded irritant over his 8 seasons before joining the Suns.
It’s unfortunate that Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks suffered significant injuries at almost the exact same time because Phoenix plays very hard on both ends of the floor every night, and still remained formidable even if one of them was out, but both guys being out — for what could be an extended period of time — may be too much for the Suns to overcome.
Phoenix will rely heavily on the trio of Grayson Allen (17.3 ppg, 3.9 asts, 1.4 stls, 3.4 threes in 36 gms), Collin Gillespie (13.4 ppg, 4.7 asts, 4.1 rebs, 1.4 stls, 3 threes, 41.8% from 3 in 57 gms) and Jalen Green (13.3 ppg, 1.2 stls, 2 threes in 10 gms) to keep them afloat while Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks are out.
Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie are also having breakout seasons in a similar fashion to Dillon Brooks. Green averaged at least 20 ppg in 3 of his first 4 NBA seasons with Houston before joining Phoenix. He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Green is more than capable of putting up similar scoring numbers as Devin Booker and Brooks.
THE PICK: CELTICS (-6)
Boston comes into this game on a roll winning 8 of their last 9, while Phoenix will be missing its top 2 scorers — Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks — who each average over 20 ppg. The Celtics have already picked up 2 easy wins on their West Coast swing against the Warriors and Lakers. I don’t see why anything would change tonight against a depleted Suns team. Lay the Points and take the Celtics!